02/29/2012

Max is in his first year of Boy Scouts and this past weekend was the Blue and Gold Banquet. Part of the event was a cake auction and Max (and dad) were very insistent that we enter. The "Cake Lady" cannot NOT enter a cake auction to benefit the Boy Scouts, right?

One problem: I was broken. Having been in a snowmobiling accident a week earlier, I was struggling to stand up straight, let alone bake and decorate cakes. Thankfully I had help from Big Pharma and was able to come through for Max.

We entered two categories: Most Colorful and Adult Entry. Not "adult themed cakes", this is the Boy Scouts after all, but rather cakes made by adults. The scouts were required to make their own entries.

Max started by taking my recipe and halving it. (Insert The Importance of Math In Everyday Life lesson here.) Then he found all the items in the pantry and read the directions. Of course I was there to direct, but he did it all himself. And look at those nice even layers. (I taught him my top secret tricks!)

Icing was a bit trickier, so I guided his hand until he got the hang of it. (Pardon my son's aversion to wearing shirts as of late.)

The best part was applying the sprinkles - or jimmies if you want to be technical. We placed the cake on a big platter and between me, Max, and Clara, we covered every square inch of the cake and the kitchen:

And I'm proud to report that he did indeed win first prize for most colorful! He was called to the front and spent a good minute or so talking into the microphone, hand gestures and all, explaining how he made it. Unfortunately nobody could hear him due to people in the auditorium not shutting up. But he was pleased as punch and now owns a trophy that says "Most Colorful Cake!"

Holy Moly Mother of Sponge Bob! The bear tried to eat the honey! Guess we shouldn't have been messing with that beehive earlier.

Guys, those aren't bear tracks, those are ALIEN tracks. I totally know.

You're dumb.

It IS bear tracks because we're CUB scouts. GET IT?!

Now you're dumb.

Oh sick... did you fart?

Yeah, I totally get gas when I get scared! Isn't that awesome!?!

Yeah, I think your gas scared away the bear.

AWESOME!!!

I'm really good at imagining conversation between 8 year old boys. And then making it into a cake. Toby is the one with the goofy brown hair, by the way. Zeke, the blond, impresses with his flatulence. Manfred Montebank II holds the flashlight and he's always prepared.

Man, those were good drugs. Anyway...

The tent was slightly technical to make because I really wanted to create a "tarp" look on the top. I don't know why I needed it to be complicated. I tend to do that to myself a lot. Spaghetti noodles ended up being the perfect solution. I actually use spaghetti all the time in my cakes to hold things together - like heads and bodies. Great, now the drugs are making me give away my secrets.

I ended up being quite pleased with the finished product. Max was impressed, too. We dropped it off at the cake auction and saw that another great local cake maker (and friend!) had the same idea. I can only assume that great minds think alike (and also visit similar sites for inspiration)! In my case, I was inspired when I saw a cute cake by Creative Cakes by Julie that had a tent and three little heads sticking out. I went with it from there.

Sadly, my cake didn't win in the Adult Category. The winning prize went to a giant (I mean GIANT) cake that was covered in coconut to look like a giant ski hill with gummy skiers. It was rather impressive. As was the other winning cake which was titled "A Pile of Poo." And it looked just like that. Next year I think I might play more to my audience - i.e. 8 year old boys - and skip the detail and go for either the grandiose factor or the gross factor.

As for the auction part, Max's gifted and talented teacher had the winning bid. I was glad because I KNOW that she'll appreciate my engineering efforts!